Swiss National Bank Sells 48,300 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Swiss National Bank cut its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,726,139 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 48,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.31% of 3M worth $188,702,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 3M by 0.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,033,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,590,533,000 after purchasing an additional 317,483 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,082,950 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $382,246,000 after acquiring an additional 94,864 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 10.1% in the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 4,062,557 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $380,337,000 after purchasing an additional 371,935 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 1,273.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,783,726 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $413,637,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,944,135 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $275,630,000 after buying an additional 506,654 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $110.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.70.

3M Price Performance

Shares of 3M stock traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $97.16. The stock had a trading volume of 4,818,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,905,956. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $96.05 and its 200 day moving average is $97.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. 3M has a twelve month low of $71.12 and a twelve month high of $99.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.76 billion, a PE ratio of -7.64, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.00.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.29. 3M had a positive return on equity of 95.80% and a negative net margin of 21.57%. The business had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.97 EPS. Equities analysts expect that 3M will post 7.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.22%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently -47.48%.

About 3M

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company's Safety and Industrial segment offers industrial abrasives and finishing for metalworking applications; autobody repair solutions; closure systems for personal hygiene products, masking, and packaging materials; electrical products and materials for construction and maintenance, power distribution, and electrical original equipment manufacturers; structural adhesives and tapes; respiratory, hearing, eye, and fall protection solutions; and natural and color-coated mineral granules for shingles.